An initial budget of 28,000€ was proposed for GP2, to support up to 10 Short-term Scientific Mission (STSM) applications and some ITC and DC grants. VM grants support were added during the GP2 period.
A total of 12 STSM applications, 1 ITC, 3 DC and 2 VM were approved for this grant period. Some ITC and STSM applications were rejected.
The global budget spent is shown in the following table.
GP2 | |
|---|---|
STSM (12) | 25,581 |
ITC (1) | 1,190 |
DC (3) | 1,550 |
VM (2) | 3,000 |
TOTAL | 3,1321 |
Below are the applicants, their project with the location where they went, the length of their stay and a summary of the results.
Maria Urbanova
Implementation of the humanized mouse models as a tool for testing immunotherapy in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
Slovakia -> Norway, 2 weeks
Results: I gain hands-on experience in establishing humanized mouse models crucial for advancing PDAC cancer research at my home institute. I was also involved in working with other interesting methods, such as in vivo tumor imaging, patient-derived xenograft development, and cell transduction and sorting. The knowledge and skills I acquired at this laboratory will be highly beneficial for my future research and projects at my home institute.
Sumesh sasidharan
Immunotherapy-Induced Toxicity in Cardiovascular Disease: Translational Research Models and Techniques. France -> United Kingdoms, 2 weeks
Results: A major focus was to explore how preclinical cardiovascular immunology findings can be incorporated into my computational models. One of the significant outcomes of the STSM was the proposal for a collaboration between Prof. Maffia’s lab and my research at Aix-Marseille University with data sharing, which would enable me to incorporate their preclinical findings into my computational models. I prepared notes on the experimental techniques with a focus on standardizing these methods.
Mariangela Garofalo
T-cell phenotyping and evaluation of the immunomodulatory properties of oncolytic vaccines complexed with extracellular vesicles.
Italy -> Poland, 3 weeks
Results: Cancer-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) loaded with oncolytic viruses (OVs) were produced and characterized. We evaluated the in vivo biodistribution of the EV carrying an oncolytic vaccine in melanoma models (IVIS Imaging System Lumina II). To confirm the efficacy spheroids and murine tissues were analyzed at the host institution via T-cell phenotyping. The results demonstrated that the novel formulations increased the infiltration of CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes but more work is required.
Paula Martin Rubio
Establishment of patient-derived orthoxenograft mice models of lung metastases: a tool to test immunotherapies. Spain -> France, 2 weeks
Result: During my stay I had the opportunity to receive training on orthotopic lung surgeries in mice, thanks to Dr. Maraver’s team. I developed a detailed surgical protocol that outlines the entire orthotopic implantation procedure. This protocol, which includes audiovisual material gathered during surgeries, was reviewed by the team of Dr. Maraver and ensures accurate implementation of the technique. Our aim is to use these advanced models to test NK cell-based immunotherapies against lung metastases from gastrointestinal tumors
Lucia Juhasikova
Implementation of slice culture technique as a tool for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma therapy testing. Slovakia -> Austria, 1 month
Results: I have learned many methods like organotypic slice culture (OTSC). OTSC is a great model for modelling tumour microenvironment (TME) of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) as it can very precisely simulate its TME in patient and mouse samples.
Laura DrndKova
3D co-culture system for pancreatic cancer immunotherapy modelling.
Slovakia -> Poland, 1 week
Results: I gained valuable skills in establishing 3D co-culture models with cancer cells and PBMCs (create and maintain 3D spheroids), integrate immune cells, and test new immunotherapy treatments. The knowledge and techniques acquired will directly support our ongoing projects in cancer immunotherapy.
Lukasz Kuryk
Assessment of oncolytic virotherapy in 3D cancer spheroid model.
Poland -> Italy, 1 month
Results: I have been trained on protocols for 3D culture and bioimaging with IVIS Lumina system. The 3D protocol will be transferred and implemented at the National Institute of Public Health in Poland, focusing on development of more efficacious therapy for mesothelioma, with oncolytic adenoviruses in combinations with PD-1 and CTLA4. Furthermore, joint grant application initiatives and publication are planned. The STMS activities brought new knowledge and protocols related to 3D spheroid mesothelioma model and bioimaging protocols for assessment of biodistribution of oncolytic viruses.
Marilina Garcia Aranda
Multicellular 3d Immunospheroid models to advance personalized treatment strategies in colorectal cancer. Portugal -> Spain, 3 months
Results: I gained hands-on experience with advanced 3D cell culture models with the development of mono-, double-, and triple-cultured cancer spheroids, as well as 3D multilayer tissue-engineered hydrogel models. I developed expertise in the fixation and preparation of spheroids for paraffin embedding, prior to immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence studies. The efficacy of varying chemotherapy was evaluated. Planned follow-up activities include continued collaboration with the host lab at i3S (research funding, joint participation in research projects, co-authored publications).
Tina Kolenc Milavek
Visualisation of the tumour microenvironment in organoids using Imaging Mass Cytometry. Slovenia -> Netherlands, 2 months 1 week
Results: I learnt the Imaging mass cytometry (IMC) to determine spatial characteristics of a tissue and observe interactions between cells. IMC allows to determine changes in the interactions within the glioblastoma microenvironment in organoids. Understanding how cell interactions change after therapy will hopefully help us to unveil the mechanisms underlying therapy resistance.
Thanh Hoa Vo
Investigating Immune-Drug Interactions in Acquired Drug-Resistant and Sensitive Breast Cancer Models. Ireland -> Poland, 1 month
Results: Techniques for working with PBMC cells were effectively exchanged. The STSM facilitated efforts towards the standardization of protocols across institutions. A refinement of these protocols will help adoption by other researchers in the field of drug resistance to contribute to a standardized approach. A co-authored chapter on our protocols for the IMMUNO-model book is ongoing.
Agnieszka Maslanka
Investigating the infiltration of immune cells in mouse tumors using fluorescence microscopy. Poland -> Romania, 2 weeks
Results: I gain valuable knowledge and skills concerning tumor tissue preparation and processing, as well as immunostaining and image acquisition. As a young PhD student, I got the chance to learn from experts in the field, as well as expand my professional network and connect with other researchers interested in similar topics.
Milan Beljkas
New models for the development of dual HDAC/ROCK inhibitors as potential drugs to improve the efficacy and overcome the resistance of cancer immunotherapies. Serbia -> Estonia, 1 month
Results: Novel QSAR (Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship) models were created for performing molecular docking studies to predict the activity of novel dual HDAC/ROCK inhibitors. I acquired knowledge in in Schroedinger Suite 2023 for molecular docking and artificial intelligence based QSAR machine learning with Python. 15 optimal candidates have been identified for predicted activity and key interactions with HDAC6, ROCK1 and ROCK2.
Marleen Ansems
COST CA21135 – IMMUNO-model – WG3: Solid tumors – models to study immunotherapy efficacy and toxicity in solid tumors, and validate biomarkers to monitor these effects. Netherlands -> Romania, 3 days
Results: I took part in the International Pathology Conference at the Victor Babeș Institute in Bucharest, Romania. I engaged in discussions with conference organizers and fellow participants, explored the institute, and attended presentations. Moreover, I disseminated information about our COST action, IMMUNO -model, to further build our network of Immune-Oncology researchers and facilitate connections.
Gianmarco Contino
COST Session in collaboration with COST Immunomodels.
2 days
Results: Presenting COST Action CA21135 at the EUSICA/INSICA Brain Conference was a successful endeavor, marked by significant interest and engagement from the attendees. The round table discussion further facilitated meaningful connections with potential collaborators, paving the way for future partnerships that will enhance the impact of our action. Moving forward, we remain committed to expanding our network and driving advancements in brain research through collaborative efforts.
Devrim Pesen Okvur
COST CA21135 – IMMUNO-model – WG1: In vitro and ex vivo cancer immunotherapy models – establishing basic protocols for immunotherapy response evaluation. Turkey -> Romania, 3 days
Results: Attending the conference made it possible to disseminate information about IMMUNO-model COST action to targeted groups like young researchers. Attendance was also disseminated through social media – LinkedIn and X (Twitter). I talked about the scope of COST actions in general and our COST action IMMUNO-model specifically. I delivered information about objectives, achievements, plans for the future and how to get involved. The LinkedIn post got 2158 impressions, 76 reactions, 1 comment and 2 reposts. Responders were from Turkiye, Netherlands and Romania.
Emanuela Senjor
Establishment of IMMUNOmodel Knowledge Hub.
2 months
Results: Almost all the proposed outcomes were produced. We are close to fulfil the CA objective of establishing and open-access database of experimental protocols of immuno-oncology models. Two tasks are still under work, as the IMMUNO-model Knowledge Hub not public yet. The protocol collection was planned to begin by the end of grant period 2. The task force will perform an internal test submission to check for any technical problems before we open the submission to the members of the CA. We plan to finish this by October, so we can start collecting protocols by the end of October/ beginning of November.
Marco Barreca
Omics Data Gathering.
Italy, 1 month
Results: During the Virtual Mobility period, a dedicated taskforce and I defined the main principles of dataset searching and curation. We laid the foundations for a larger project aimed at visualizing and analyzing publicly available omics datasets in the immuno-oncology field. These tools will enable researchers to easily access and organize relevant data, contributing to biomarker discovery and translational research.
Georgios Aindelis
Treatment of colon cancer cells with Lacticaseibacillus casei: induction of apoptosis and release of DAMPs associated with immunogenic cell death. 21st Annual CIMT Meeting. Greece -> Germany, 3 days
Results: I had the chance to converse with experts on the field of immunotherapy, presenting my work and witnessing the innovative ideas of others. I also made acquaintances with researchers interested in our work, informed them about the goals of the IMMUNO-model COST Action and I am looking forward for an opportunity to further our cooperation with them in future joined studies.
Some statistics for mobility grants
Purple: COST member countries; Blue: ITC countries
Applicant’s country of origin by number.
Number of projects related to our 5WGs.
Host organizations’ country by number.
Average cost/day or week of mission
Gender balance
Some statistics for DC mobility grants
Purple: COST member countries; Blue: ITC countries
Applicant country
Host country
Gender balance
WG related to the projects
VM statistics GP 2, 2 applications
Gender F/M = 1/1
ITC statistics GP2
1 Sender Greece
1 Host Germany
Gender balance M 1
WG relation: WG1/5
